It's a Hard Knock Life
by Theguysawaffle
Summary: Discrimination. Racism. Hate. These are just a few reasons why life is hard. After waking up with a massive head wound and robbed of everything but the clothes on his back, Lein, a young Canadian man, must find a way to deal with his slowly amassing depression after an incident resulting in the death of a young teenager. Rated M for strong language, suggestive themes, and violence.
1. Beginnings

Have you ever wondered what it would be like, to be surrounded by hundreds, thousands, even millions of people, with whom you had nothing in common? It's a strange thing to think about, because, even though you might not know them, you're all still humans, you think alike, feel alike, and you know that you have at least something, either physically or emotionally in common with those around you. However, what if that was not the case? What if you had no idea how anyone thought or solved problems, hell, you barely even know what they even are, and they don't have any goddamn clue as to what you could possibly be. That'd be pretty bad right? Imagine that, but you have no way to contact anyone and no way to go back home. That's what happened to me, and while you may never experience something like this yourself, I'll tell you what it's like.

"Agh. Jesus Christ my friggin head!" I groaned, my hand pressed on my wet temple, pulsating with waves of pure agony, each worse than the last. I opened my eyes and looked at my hand, a small amount of blood on my palm. "What the hell happened?"

I reached into my pocket for my phone but found nothing but lint. I checked the rest of my pockets, no wallet, no keys, and no phone. "Well... shit, I guess I got robbed." I groaned again and lay my head down.

"Where even am I?" I thought to myself, trying to remember what I had done last night, but nothing abnormal came to mind. All I remember was getting home and going to sleep. I sat up, causing my head to envelope itself in a tidal wave of pain. Whoever hit me had a damn good arm.

I forced myself to deal with the pain, opening my eyes. What lay before me just caused more confusion. I was in the middle of what seemed to be a piece of farmland. I didn't know what to make of it,and I was in too much pain to care about it right now. I took a deep breath and waited for my head to calm down before I gathered the strength to stand up.

I examined my surroundings. "Huh," I said to myself. I had absolutely no idea where I was, but it sure as hell was not Seattle. I squinted and searched for any sign of civilization, but saw nothing, that was until I spotted a trail of dust in the distance.

"Thank God, a car!" I said, gleeful, as it began coming my way. I jumped and began flailing my arms like a maniac, ignoring my possible life-threatening head injury in order to try and get the driver's attention. As if to acknowledge that they had seen me, the vehicle honked and approached. I peered into the cabin, but couldn't get a good glimpse of the driver, as the windshield was covered in dirt and mud. I'd just have to take my chances with the driver, not that I had much choice.

The trucked stopped a few yards ahead of me. As the passenger side window rolled down, I stared in complete befuddlement.

"Well, you sure are a mighty strange lookin critter arentcha?" I hesitated to respond.

"Please forgive me sir, but uh..." I couldn't find the words to say, the man looked like a goat! Now I don't mean that to be an insult, but he legitimately looked like a goat as in the farm animal.

"That's a rather nasty lookin cut you got on your head there friend, are you feeling alright?"

I took a deep breath. I must have been hit really, really hard, I'd applaud the person who did it, but it still hurts like hell, and they did still sorta rob me.

"Sorry sir, I'm just... very confused right now, I can't think straight." My head began pulsing again. "God damn it!" I yelled, collapsing onto the ground. I heard the car door open and slam shut.

"Oh my, we should get you to a doctor!" my vision blurred, and began to fade, but I could feel something presumably the... goat? No, there was no way. Shit, I've been messed up pretty damn bad. The 'goat' placed me into the seat, right before I passed out.

I woke up, a bright light beaming into my eyes. I lay confused for a moment, before sitting up. I groaned, still attempting to gather my bearings on the situation I was in. I examined my surroundings: White floor, pale green walls, and it had the smell of disinfectant and cleaner fluid. Was I in a hospital? That probably means that I was not dreaming earlier.

I touched my head and felt a soft cloth where my cut had been. Shit, that confirms it. Although someone had bandaged it, so I guess whoever found me did end up keeping their promise. I sought some more and discovered an IV pinned into my forearm. However, there seemed to be quite a few acupuncture wounds covering my arm. Whoever had inserted it had trouble finding the vein.

I began to feel worried. What kind of hospital was this? Was this even a hospital? I slightly panicked, causing my heart rate to increase. I tried to stand up, but I realized that I had been handcuffed to the hospital bed. Suddenly a figure walked in, and once again, I became disoriented. It was some sort of bear, I think? To be honest I didn't even know if I still had the capacity to think.

"Oh, you're awake! Thank the heavens, we had no idea what to do!" I raised my unchained hand and stopped her.

"Before you continue, I need some answers and I need them now, I am really fucking confused, and I don't even know where I am." I furrowed my brow, attempting to be as intimidating as possible.

"Oh dear, I'm sorry sir! Please, allow me to explain. My name is Sandra, and you're at West Worth M.D. Although I cannot explain what happened to you, as I myself am quite confused as well.

I calmed down. "Yeah, I don't know how I ended up getting hit so badly. Whoever did it robbed me, though." I responded.

She sat down and stared at me for a moment. "That's not what I was entirely confused about. What really baffled me was, your, biology? I guess is how you would put it?" She looked at me quizzically, and I stared back, confused.

"What do you mean?" I responded, becoming slightly worried as to what she meant.

"Well, we've never seen anything like it, we searched every piece of research we have gathered, we asked everyone we knew, but we just don't know."

"What do you mean? Is it like a disease or something?" I asked, worried for my health. "Am I going to be alright, doctor? What's wrong with me?"

She waved her hands in dismissal, trying to calm me down. "No, no! It's not that! At least I don't think it is. You just don't share anything with any animal we've seen before."

...What? Was she crazy? What the hell was that supposed to mean?

"Doctor, I don't know what the fuck is going on right now, but I've been seeing people as goddamn animals for the past day, and what the fuck do you mean by 'any animal'? I'm a fucking human like everyone else! Are you insane?"

I was yelling like a madman, I must have seemed insane, but what else could I do? I had no idea what was going on!

"Calm down sir! Listen, what we mean is that we haven't met any, 'humans'? Is that what you said you were? Ever. I realize you might be confused, but you must understand we are as confused as you are. I don't know where you're from, but obviously, you aren't from here. I'm going to get the psychologist who can hopefully explain this all to you. I'm sorry for any confusion, and the cuffs are just a precautionary measure, but before I go, I just thought I should say, welcome to Zootopia.


	2. Getting Settled

"Well, this is it!"

He opened the door. It wasn't a very noteworthy apartment, however, I couldn't really look a gift horse in the mouth, especially since I didn't have any source of income yet, and I was still trying to comprehend the situation at hand.

"Thank you so much for your help Mr. Lionheart, I don't what I would have done without you!" I said, shaking his hand, or, paw.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't provide anything better for you, but-"

"No no no!" I interrupted, shaking my head, "Please, you've done way too much already, there's no reason for you to be sorry."

He crossed his arms and chuckled. "If you say so Lein. Oh! I almost forgot!"

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small flip phone.

"You'll probably need this, call me if you need anything. I already put my number in there, and my assistants number as well in case you can't reach me."

He handed me the device and patted my shoulder. I shook my head, smiling.

"You're being too nice to me. Please, if you ever need anything done, a favor or something, I owe you big time, so just ask me."

He scratched his chin and thought for a moment.

"Well, since you offered, and because you're still in the search for a line of work, we have been having a problem for quite some time now."

He leaned out the doorway and scanned the hall, shutting the door and walking back in. He leaned close and signaled for me to lean in as well.

"Well, we've been really low on police officers for quite a while, and we can't keep up with all the crimes happening in the city. We don't want people to know because that could ruin my reputation as a mayor. The crime rate was never even a real problem until recently. We need more officers, if you think that you're up for the task, I'll let Chief Bogo know you're coming."

I sat there and thought about it for a moment. I mean, it's not like I had much choice, and I'm in pretty decent shape so I could probably at least help out a little. Besides, I'll still have basic training to learn everything I need to and have plenty of time to get in better shape, so why not?

"Sure!" I said.

He chuckled, "Wow, you're a little quick on the draw don't you think? Shouldn't you at least think about it first?"

I shrugged, "I mean work is work right? Besides, I do owe you, and if doing this pays back my debt, then I guess I don't really have much choice do I?" I looked at him, waiting for a response "Well if you're so certain I am not going to stop you. I'm glad you're enthusiastic at least."

He stuck is paw out and I shook it again.

He began to step out but stopped halfway out the door. "Oh, and by the way, the station is in Savannahville, you remember where that is right?" He raised an eyebrow, awaiting an answer.

"Oh yeah, and thanks for the tour again, I really appreciate it."

I waved, smiling. "Bye!"

He waved, and left the room. I took a deep breath and placed my hands on my hips, and looked around, seeing what the less than desirable apartment had to offer. You could see the dust floating around in the air, but other than that is wasn't all too dirty. I grabbed the wallet I had been given and left the apartment, heading on my way to the police station.

I stepped out of the taxi, after thanking the driver, and paying him with the meager amount of cash Mr. Lionheart had given me. I looked at the rather intimidating building, and shrunk a little, trying not to be noticed. What the hell was I doing? I have no experience as a police officer. I ran in track, but there was probably a cheetah or something that ran like a damn bullet compared to me. I sighed, regretting my decision.

"Are you just gonna stand there or are you coming inside?"

I looked up, spotting a rather large animal. He looked like a bull of some kind, but I wasn't sure.

"I beg your pardon?" I asked, not entirely sure what to think.

"You're... uh..-"

He looked at a clipboard which he held in his hand, looking confused.

"-Lein? What kind of name is that?" I felt slightly offended, but being angry wasn't going to get me a job.

"Yes I'm Lein, you must be Mr. Bogo?" That caused him to furrow his brow, acting like I had just threatened his manhood.

"It's Chief Bogo, and you're late." He ushered me inside, storming his way behind me. "I honestly don't care about introductions, but we need to get you a uniform, so go talk to Clawhauser and he'll get you fitted.

"Who?" I asked. He put his hand on his face, clenching the other one, making a fist.

He gritted his teeth and huffed. "The cat behind the front desk. If you need anything ask him, because like I said before, I don't care."

He stomped off before I could ask anything else. What a jerk. I scanned the room and spotted the desk, along with a large Chester Cheetah looking son of a gun behind it, holding what looked like a smart phone. I thought that the front desk was supposed to do pretty much anything other than that, but I didn't have time to question it, I just wanted to get this over with.

"Are you Clawhauser?" I asked. No response, he just sat there staring at his phone. Annoyed, I sighed, and asked again. "Excuse me, are you Clawhauser?"

He looked up at me and gave a very strange expression. What seemed like a mix between surprise and confusion at the same time.

"Oh hello!" He pulled a pair of earbuds out and put his phone away. "What can I do for you?" Was he wearing headphones? This was literally like the most incompetent police officer I've ever seen.

"Should you really be wearing headphones right now?" I asked, angry. causing him to frown.

I took a deep breath, was I really being an asshole to this poor guy right now? I leaned on the desk, on my elbows. "I'm sorry, I've had a rough day so far. I'm Lein, I was told you could help me get my uniform?" He smiled again, although weaker than at first.

He sat up, seeming excited. "Oh my goodness, you're the new officer? I've heard so much about you!"

I looked at him quizzically. "Really?" I asked, confused. He laughed, grabbing his belly. "Ha ha! No, not really, but I will say you are a rather interesting looking person. Tell me, what exactly are you?"

Wow, that seemed pretty rude to me, but maybe the social rules are different here.

"I'm what is known as a human, or homo sapien if we're getting scientific. I'm actually not from here, or, anywhere even remotely close to here. I'm actually still kind of confused on where I am." I scratched my neck, questioning my sanity.

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Clawhauser! Here follow me, I'll show you around and get you suited up."

"Ugh." I groaned, throwing the uniform on the table. I'm not normally one to complain, but holy shit, that cat would not stop talking! I don't give a flying damn about some stupid singer who was both a Gazelle and named Gazelle. I don't care! I needed to clear my head, I was really stressed out. Orientation was awful, and I started training tomorrow, I was definitely not excited.

I stepped out of my apartment and walked into the hall. What in gods

name am I going to do? I can't even sleep, and I'm about to start training for a job in which I know nothing and have little to no interest in. A headache ensued.

"Well, at least the neighbors aren't terrible." I leaned my head against the wall, bumping it slightly. Suddenly I heard a shout from down the hall.

"Shut up! I'm trying to sleep in here!" I threw my head in my hands. I don't even know what I'm doing anymore. I walked into my room and slammed the door shut behind me.


	3. Training

"Listen up cadets! There is a total of twelve unique ecosystems in Zootopia, and you're gonna need to master dealing with all of them if you plan on surviving out there!"

Our instructor had a very authoritarian way of training the new cadets, but I guess that's the only way to keep us in line. Overall the training was pretty complicated, but to put it simply, at first, it felt like I traveled the world in one night. We had to deal with blazing heat in the desert, hot and humid weather in the jungle, and even had to climb an ice wall in the freezing cold.

After that all the cadets had to box each other, which seemed rather unfair, considering there was a god damned rhino on the team, although he was surprisingly slow and brutish, even though Rhinos are known to be pretty fast, at least on Earth, so it wasn't all too hard to dodge his punches.

I nearly broke my hand trying to hit the guy. It took nearly a hundred just to finally knock him out. Although he couldn't really dodge all that easy, being such a large target, so maybe I had an advantage as a human? Technically we are genetically superior to pretty much every animal on earth in some way, shape or form. But then again, those animals didn't box.

There were also some other, rather unremarkable things we had to do that day. Including driving tests, more self-defense, and some more agility training and whatnot. Surprisingly I did really well in all of the challenges, I got at least 4th in all of them, which I did not expect. In some events, I barely missed getting third place, and even though they weren't technically ranked, I still got really competitive. I was so focused on doing my best to beat everyone that I passed out as soon as we got to the bunks.

After a while, I wanted to do best so much, that I exercised during any free time I got. We had to train for around 20 weeks, and I was the best there was for the quite some time, until close to the end of the program when I started getting beat by some rabbit, which made me extremely frustrated, so frustrated in fact, that I starting working myself to death to the point where it hurt to move pretty much anything, trying to regain my throne, but to no avail. I ended up placing in all of the events on the final test but didn't get first once. I was upset at first, but realizing how well I did, compared to everyone else, I was so happy that I nearly forgot about the whole ceremonial pinning of the badge. I ended up missing the speech the rabbit had made, but other than that, it was a very humbling and honorable experience.

A couple of the other cadets, and I hung out afterward, although most of the others just went and saw their families. At first, I was going to do the same, however, I quickly remembered that I hadn't been able to see my family for 3 months. Let alone any humans, so that wouldn't be possible. I didn't think much of it, though, I didn't want to ruin the night.

We drank, told stories, and went out on the town. During this, I actually learned that the animals here were almost the exact same as humans, it's pretty much just earth but with animals instead of humans. I made a few friends that night. I ended up passing out at some point, so we had to go home early. Everyone was so tired though that they didn't really care. Most of them were going to go see their friends tomorrow. As soon as I got home, I passed out on the couch.

I was woken up by the sound of my phone ringing. The ring pierced my ears, waking me up from an absolutely awesome dream. I sighed and picked up the phone.

"Hello?" I answered groggily.

The caller sighed, seeming disappointed. "Lein? Did you really just wake up? Do you know what time it is?"

I looked at my alarm clock. 12:30? Jesus, I was up late last night. "Oh, yeah, sorry, I had a crazy night, who is this?" I asked as I trudged to the bathroom, and searched for my toothbrush.

"It's Mayor Lionheart, just thought I should congratulate you on finishing your training!" I rubbed my eyes, Lionheart? Why did he call me just to congratulate me? We talked at the ceremony already.

"Oh, thanks, yeah I'm excited to start work," I answered, grabbing the toothpaste from the drawer.

He was quiet for a second.

"Uhh, yeah, about that, have you seen the news recently?" He asked in a somewhat alarming tone.

"No," I answered, stopping what I had been doing. "I've been busy at training, I never got the chance."

"Well, news spread about the recent crime rate spike, and its gotten to the point where people are afraid to walk the streets at night."

I was silent for a moment. That was awful news, but I was still curious as to why he needed to call me.

"Why exactly are you telling me this?" I asked, confused.

"Well," He said, "Now that you're a police officer, you'll be placed in some dangerous situations. Violent crime is through the roof, muggings, assaults, even some armed robberies. The point is that you may be putting your life at risk by joining the force, just thought I should warn you."

I was a little surprised, but if I wasn't used to this kind of stuff happening on earth, I would probably be worried.

"Oh, thanks for the heads up,"

We continued chatting for a little while before the mayor eventually got called to a meeting. I said goodbye, hung up the phone, and got prepared for the day ahead.


	4. Familiar Face

I walked into the apartment building, greeting Marie, who was sitting behind the front desk.

"Good to see you again Lein, are you having a good day?"

I chuckled.

"As good of a day that someone like me can have, Marie."

She gave me a smile of pity and put down what the papers she was writing on.

"I really can't imagine what it must be like, it seems so lonely, but hey! I'm always here if you need someone to talk to!" I smiled back.

"Thanks, I appreciate it,"

As I said that I heard the door open, both Marie and I looked over.

"Well, son of a gun!" I exclaimed.

It was the rabbit, from class. "You're the one who kicked all of our asses in class!" She looked at me quizzically for a second, seeming surprised by the vulgarity at first, but soon recognized me.

"Oh! Hey! You're..."

She hesitated for a moment and put her paw on her chin, thinking. Suddenly, she snapped and pointed at me,

"Lein, right? You were the human in training!"

I was slightly surprised that she knew my name. I didn't even have a clue of what her name was.

"Yeah, that's right. I'm sorry, I don't think that I ever got your name, please forgive me," I said and smiled, embarrassed. Now I really am an asshole, she never spoke to me and still knows my name somehow!

"Don't worry about it, I'm Judy, Judy Hopps!"

She reached for a handshake.

"Oh, how polite, " I grabbed her paw and shook it. "It's a pleasure to meet you!" I pretty much had to crouch to reach, but I didn't mind. "You two know each other?" Marie asked.

"We trained in the same class." Judy responded, and looked at me "I suppose we'll be working together too."

Huh, what a coincidence.

"Yeah, you're right! I guess fate has caused us to meet! If you're the type to believe that sort of thing."

Marie laughed, "Don't tell me you actually believe that stuff, Lein."

I looked at her and sighed. I was slightly peeved but she didn't seem to want mean offense.

"I was raised on that kind of stuff Marie, I can't really help it."

She laughed, "I'm just pulling your leg Lein, don't worry."

As Marie and Judy continued to chat, I checked the clock on the wall behind the desk. Crap, it was already nine thirty? It was late, and work began tomorrow!

"Hey uh, as much as I'd like to talk to you guys some more, I got to get to bed, see you two later!"

I stepped away and made my way to the apartment.


	5. The Robbery

BANG!

The Chief slammed the door shut, prompting everyone to shut up.

"Listen up! We've got some new recruits, 12 to be exact. You all know I hate introductions, however, the extra help is very much appreciated.

He stepped behind a small podium, placed in front of the briefing room, and slapped a clipboard onto it.

"Okay, time for assignments, each team is going to get a recruit, you'll need to teach them how things work here. Russello, Alfred, and Gunther, you're investigating the robbery on Twelfth Street. Ronnie, and Unes, Vandalism in Savannah Park. Luther, Hernandez, Francine, and Judy, you're on the murder on Lake Avenue. Everyone else, check the patrol schedules. Dismissed!"

I stood up and followed the line to the whiteboard. However before I could get to the front, a large tiger stepped up and beckoned me to him.

"Lein, you're with me, we're assigned to Tundra Town, so let's go."

We both made our way to the lot where the vehicles were held, continuing our chat.

"How'd you know my name by the way? I don't think we've ever spoken to each other before."

He looked at me and shrugged. "Well, for starters, when you're working this kind of job, you begin to learn everyone's names, especially nowadays. Also, considering you're the first of your kind here, it's kind of hard to ignore that kind of thing."

We both reached the cruiser, I entered the passenger side.

"Well, I can't blame you for being resourceful. Most I've met haven't even bothered to ask. Speaking of names actually, I don't think that I've caught yours?"

"Sadam. So, since we'll be stuck with each other for the next couple of hours, I guess we should get to know each other huh?"

I looked at him and shrugged. What else were we going to do to pass the time anyways?

"Well, I guess I'll start. Here's the quick version of it. I was born and raised in Savannah Central, pretty much spent my whole life in Zootopia, so if you've got any questions about elsewhere I can't really help you on that. I'm a Bengal tiger in case you couldn't tell already, and I have a 2-year-old cub."

I looked in disbelief, both by the fact that he shared so much information already, and the fact that he didn't even look all that mature, although I can't say that I have the experience to tell tiger age by looks.

"You're married already? Must be some girl if you're ready to go so quick huh?"

He scoffed, and waved my comment away. "Pfft, Nah. Whore left me with the kid after she ran off with some fancy Joe on his Yacht. Can't wait for her to realize how fast she's gonna get dumped." He laughed, somewhat maniacally.

Good God, this girl was either a class 10 super bitch or this guy was a little too crazy. Either way, I felt really uncomfortable with the situation at hand, while Sadam brushed it off like it's a normal thing to say. Maybe this place wasn't as nice as it looked?

"So, what about you? What's your story human?" He hit my shoulder, jokingly.

I looked at him, still somewhat intimidated but I'm sure he meant well. "Well, what's there to say? I lived in a place called Ontario, in the city of Greater Sudbury. Not nearly as big as Zootopia but it sure wasn't a small town, no kids, though, gladly."

He looked at me, inquisitive. "Why? Kids are great! Yeah, they make it a little tough but you learn to love them!"

I looked back, moderately upset that he hadn't noticed the problem with his statement. "If I had kids, I wouldn't be able to take care of them, because I kinda don't know how to get back home," I said passive aggressively.

He facepalmed, realizing his mistake. "I'm sorry, I forgot about that. Yes, it is a good thing. That sucks, though, I really hope you can find your way home sometime soon, although if not this isn't that bad of a place, you just got to get to-" He was cut off by the radio, which buzzed.

"All units, be advised. We have a 211 in progress, Southwest Tundratown, Drew's Diner. The suspect is armed."

We looked at each other before I picked up the receiver.

"This is Car 12. We are responding, Code 3."

"Car 12, we have reports of gunshots"

Oh fuck, that wasn't good. Sadam hit the sirens, and we sped off.

"10-4 Dispatch. We're en route." The engine roared as we raced past the pedestrians on the street. Making our way to the destination. Before long we stopped in front of the diner, and jumped out of the car, and made our way into the diner, weapons drawn.

The inside was a shitshow. Tables were flipped, glass shattered, bullet holes in the wall, silverware, and tablecloth flung on the floor. Whoever was here was far from subtle on their intentions. We searched the room and discovered an injured giraffe, bleeding badly. Sadam ran to her aid while I continued searching.

Out of the blue, I heard a shout from the back room.

"Where the FUCK do you keep the money ya old geezer? Tell me now before me and my pals here beat it out of ya!"

I lurked to the door and peeked inside. There were a few wolves surrounding an old looking turtle, harassing him. I wanted to wait for backup, but if I waited too long they might kill the old guy. I cursed at myself and slammed my way through the door. This caused the group to bolt up, and look directly at me.

"SHIT! It's the feds!"

Most of them ran, while one drew a firearm from the back of his pants. I fired into his chest, causing him to go limp. I couldn't let these punks get away, I followed the rest outside.

"Stop right there!" I shouted, but it did nothing to stop them. They all continued running, I continued my chase after them.

We ran through the streets, narrowly missing cars and bumping into pedestrians. I was gaining on them and was only a few yards away now. I was going to catch these fools.

They continued running until we eventually came into an alleyway, they had no way to escape now.

"Alright fellas, you've had your fun but it's time to face the consequences, there is no way for you guys to get out of this, so just surrender now and this will be easier for all of us!"

They laughed, and I became bewildered. They had no way out, why were they laughing?

Suddenly, one of the wolves pounced me, throwing my gun to the side, while the others began quickly scaling the building. I needed to react fast if was going to get these guys.

I threw the attacker off of me, grabbed my gun, and fired at the fleeing suspects. Hitting one in the foot, causing him to fall down the building. The others got away, but I had two down the sights of my gun, and I wasn't going to risk it again.

"Put your paws behind your head!" While I attempted to shout with as much authority as possible. I still couldn't take that seriously.

The two complied, and stood there glaring at me, eyes full of hatred. Suddenly, my radio buzzed. I turned around and grabbed the receiver.

"Officer Lein, please copy. What is your location?"

I stepped out of the alley and searched for a street sign. Before I could respond, I heard movement behind me. I turned around, but before I could react, a huge surge of pain erupted from my chest, causing me to fall onto my back.

My vision blurred, but I could make out two silhouettes running away. I drew my gun from the holster and shot one of them, however, the other was able to run away, as my magazine was empty. The gun clicked multiple times before I gave up, lying my head down for a moment before darkness filled my vision.


	6. Backlash

Today was the worst day of my life.

After I blacked out, I was taken to the hospital and treated for my injuries. At first, I was labeled a hero by many, however, it didn't take long for me to realize my mistake.

The suspects all belonged to the timberwolves, a homeless gang that lived off petty theft and mugging those who were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. That wasn't the problem, though.

The problem was that one of the suspects I killed was 14 years old.

He wasn't even the one who shot me.

Apparently, his name was Nathaniel Furman, and his parents abandoned him around 2 years ago.

At first, I didn't know what to think. I was told that I was only doing my job and that I hadn't broken the rules of engagement, but that didn't change the fact that I killed a child on my first day. The Chief tried everything to let me know that this kind of thing happens and that I shouldn't make a big deal out of it, but most everyone else had severely different opinions.

"Protesters gathered outside the police station today, after the recent police operation that ended in the death of a 14-year-old wolf cub. Unrest has spread across Zootopia, with multiple demonstrations against police officers. Officials have labeled the current situation dangerous. The Chief of Police has had no com-"

I turned off the television and threw the remote against the wall. No care for the neighbors next door. I sat up on the edge of my bed, furious with myself. I needed some time to think, sulking around wasn't going to help me, and if I kept sitting here feeling sorry for myself, I wasn't going to solve anything.

I stood up and stepped out the door. Then, I made my way to the end of the hall, towards a small outdoor balcony. As soon as I stepped outside, I was immediately met with a rush of warm, nighttime air. I

It was almost completely silent. Grasshoppers chirping, the sound of the wind. It was almost like I was back home.

Home.

It has been nearly 3 months since I've seen my family, friends, or anyone for that matter. At least, any humans.

I was able to ignore it as I focused on my training, however now, during this, moment of clarity it was hard to think of anything else.

I sat there, completely silent, for what felt like hours. It was so peaceful. I didn't want to let this moment go.

I heard the door behind me creak open and shut. It was quiet, well, as quiet as a squeaky door can be, but it still brought my mind back to reality. I didn't bother to turn around. To be honest I didn't really care. I was trying so desperately to bring that feeling back, but it was no use. It had drifted away.

After a moment or so, the intruder spoke.

"So, how have things been?"

I didn't answer. I sat, just hoping for them to give up and go away.

"Are you doing okay?"

"Please, just stop."

Was I doing okay? Did they know what this felt like? Chances are they knew who I was, apparently, everyone and their grandma knew now that I'm on the damn news. Anyone with a mind would know that I was not doing okay! I clenched my hand into a fist, and-

"Well, I wanted to say that I'm sorry for what all that has been going on recently."

"Sorry? You're kidding me, right? Sorry can't help me. I appreciate the concern, I really do, but you have no idea what I'm dealing with right now."

I wanted to say more, but if I did I might lash out, and an assault charge was the last thing I needed.

"Come on now, you don't have to be like that. Sometimes life is tough, but you can pull through, I'm sure you can!"

I slammed my fist against the railing and turned to see who it was. Surprisingly enough, it was Judy, the rabbit girl, but why the hell did she care? She didn't know me, and I didn't know her. We spoke once, and, yes, she is nice enough, but that doesn't mean she can simply say something and make everything better.

"Do you even realize what is going on? I've got entire rallies of people who want my head right now! I've got the fucking news, on my ass! I can't take a step outside without getting heckled, or a camera shoved in my face. I've got so much shit going on that the fucking chief won't even let me leave the building! On my first god damn day, I killed someone. Do you know what that feels like? Knowing you couldn't go a day without messing things up?"

I had definitely pissed her off. She stepped up and glared directly into my eyes. For a bunny, she was pretty damn intimidating.

"Listen here you sorry son of a-..." She looked away for a moment and took a deep breath. "Listen, I know that you're upset, but what would you do, if something neither you or anyone you know has ever seen, killed a child on their first day of being assigned to a place of power. They are scared of you, okay? You need to understand, that sometimes we don't know what to do, other than to be scared. Yes, it's probably pretty hard for you right now, but that doesn't mean you need to feel sorry for yourself. That isn't going to make people realize what happened. If you just take a moment to consider what you should do, and think of a plan to fix this, you'll be able to get through this. Lein, please. Everyone's good on the inside, and everyone knows that. Let them know that this counts for you as well."

I scowled.

"Please, just leave. You're not helping me." I shouted as I pointed to the door back inside.

She began to step back inside, but before she left, she turned to look at me.

"No one can help you if you don't help yourself first."

She stepped inside and slammed the door shut behind her.

I groaned, and turned back, staring off into the city.

I was pissed off because she was right. I couldn't just sit around and wait for everything to fix itself. If I wanted things to change, I had to do it myself.

I sat and thought to myself for a bit, before stepping back inside.


End file.
